Fort Atkinson’s own Bermuda Triangle: Oestreich Road

October 23, 2009 • Finley Wiese  
Filed under Uncategorized

Fort Atkinson and the surrounding areas have had some ghost stories in the past, but never has there been a force so malevolent as the one hovering about Oestreich (ā – strike) Lane, which lies just west of Fort Atkinson on Highway 12.  This is the location of Fort Atkinson’s very own Bermuda Triangle.  A disappearance and several tragic accidents have plagued the inhabitants of this road for years.  While there isn’t a ghost behind these tragedies, there is an ominous feeling about this road.

The most famous tragedy on this road was in 1947, the year in which Georgia Jean Weckler, 8, of Fort Atkinson disappeared.  After returning from her studies at the Oakland Center school, she was seen walking up the driveway to her house on Oestreich Lane.  She never reached her house.  How is it that the neighbors who distinctly saw her walking up the drive with an armful of letters didn’t see her abducted?

Several people came to police after the disappearance saying they’d seen a black car in the area that day, though few details could be given about the driver, save that he was young and blond.  While no one reported seeing him in the area at the time of the disappearance, this John Doe was the prime suspect in the investigation.  No clues, however, led to a single young blond male.  Could it be that no human took poor Weckler?  No trace of her has ever been found, and nobody saw the abduction.  Could this road have a dark power surrounding it?

While there are rumors of other disappearances, there is no hard evidence of such things.  There are, however, reports of an unusually high concentration of tragic accidents on Oestreich Lane, a short road that is just over a mile in length.  Joanne Armstrong, who has owned property bordering Oestreich Lane for most of her life, has seen her share of accidents.

“There was a semi/car accident in front of our house about 4 years ago. The woman was killed in a PT cruiser and the semi ended up in our driveway,” Armstrong said.   It was a week before Christmas.

So what is behind the tragedies on Oestreich Lane?  Is it an electromagnetic hot-spot that causes vehicles to lose control?  Is there a spirit grasping out for help, or for harm?  Is it just plain unlucky?  Was poor Weckler just a fluke, or is the road capable of more vile deeds?  Will the road ever kill again?

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